Applying to NYU Langone:

The past four months of my life have been filled with the trials and tortures that come with applying to a competitive business school. My app had question marks in it, and all the details of my life were not totally perfect, but I believed I had what it took to go to a top school… Fortunately On June 25th NYU agreed with me.

For those applying to NYU Stern’s Langone program, I put together a little guide of what to expect. This is based on what I learned from my own experience, and from the experiences of other gmat clubbers. Hopefully this will help reduce the anxiety for you, and give you an idea of what's ahead.


- APPLICATION PROCESS -

ROLLING ADMISSIONS AND DEADLINES:
So here’s the deal, it’s not really rolling in the normal sense. You can submit your application before the deadline, but they will NOT be reviewed until after the deadline. Furthermore, they will not necessarily be reviewed in a first in first out manner. Finally, the deadline is not usually enforced, and NYU usually takes apps months after the official cutoff date.

STATUS CHECKING:
NYU has a page where you can get the current status of your application. You’ll get a password for this at around the application deadline date. Your mental health will be best if you can resist the urge to check your status every few minutes. OCD can set in quickly.
Important note: If you don’t have a password 10 days or so after the deadline, call the adcom.

MISSING INFORMATION:
NYU will email you if you’re missing anything, and the missing items NYU needs will show up on the status check page. NYU is very fast at receiving and acknowledging the receipt of new material. When the new material is received, it shows up on the status check site (no email.)
Also, if NYU is asking you for stuff, it usually means your file is being reviewed. Many people receive notification within 2 weeks of sending the info (me included).

The following items will be needed:

= Official undergrad transcript with degree conferral.
= If you had transfer credits applied to your undergrad degree, then you’ll have to include the transcripts for those as well.
= NYU will want a copy of the official degree for international students
= 2 Letters of Rec.
= Essay 3 submission (if you indicated you’re sending something)

Important note: Sometimes you will get notification of a missing item late in the process, and if you cannot get it to them quickly, you can hurt your chances of being admitted.

NOTIFICATION:
When a decision has been made, you’ll get an email saying, “There has been an update to the status of your application to the NYU Stern MBA program.” If you go to the status check page, you’ll see the decision (Accept, Interview, Waitlist, Decline.) The official mailed package will follow in about 2 days.
Notifications can happen as soon as a week after the app deadline for re-apps and exceptionals, but most people will hear 1 – 2 months out. Most notifications come on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and they come in bulk. Notifications can have also come Friday and Monday, but almost never come on Thursday.
The wait is awful, but you’re not alone.

DEPOSIT:
Once you’re admitted, you have 2 weeks to pay NYU a $1000 deposit. You can pay this right away via the new student tour, or you can wait until you receive the official acceptance letter in the mail.
When NYU has your deposit, your status check screen will say the following: “We are in receipt of your Enrollment Deposit. Please be sure to initiate the verification process outlined in your admission letter. Please allow up to 5 business days for your Kroll login to be activated. As a new student…”

NEW STUDENT DATABASE:
When you get in and pay your deposit your name will be placed on the new student database, and you’ll be given access to view it (it's pretty cool). If you copy / past the database in to excel, you can get a count of how many people were admitted so far (it’s polite to post on the GMAT club board with admit count updates whenever you can). There is a delay of a few days between posting your deposit and appearing on the database. Also, the database is usually updated in the mid afternoon, and does not get updated every day.

KROLL:
After you get in, NYU will have an outside agency (Kroll) to investigate you (and they will make you pay for this privilege). While no one knows the extent of the background check, they will definitely confirm employment history (including salaries) and degree conferrals. Furthermore, they might call your referrers, verify your certifications and check criminal records. Military guys will need to provide DD214s. My credit reports don’t show a soft inquiry from Kroll or NYU, so I doubt they are checking credit.
The Kroll verification can take a long time. Do yourself and your nerves a favor and double check everything on your application before you send it. Have your paustubs / w2’s and degrees on hand, just in case. It will save you a lot of anxiety. Oh, and don’t lie on your app, not even a little bit. It’s one thing to be rejected on the truth; it’s another thing entirely to be rejected on a lie.

Important note: It’s a very common thing to have an ‘official title’ and an actual title that are different. Kroll knows this. As long as your employer will say the titles are equivalent, there’s nothing to worry about.

When Kroll is done, they send the info on you to NYU. NYU will review it, and if it's satisfactory, you’ll get an email that says the following: “Welcome to the NYU Stern Langone Program! We have received your enrollment deposit and your verification process has been satisfactorily completed. We are thrilled that you are part of our community.”

WAITLIST:
If you made the waitlist, then NYU clearly likes something about you, but…

1) Something in your application red flags you. For instance, if you live far away and don’t have a relocation plan in place, they will often waitlist you. NYU wants you to have a reasonably stable life and a good, reasonably stable job.
2) You were qualified for the program in every way, but lost out in the competition with other applicants. This usually happens in bulk near the notification deadline. Every cycle about 2 or 3 people like this on the gmat club get converted to admits, but a lot will be dinged. Reapplication success is usually high for this group, especially if they show a real effort to improve themselves (improve the gmat, take a challenging class, lead something…)

EMAIL ADDRESSES TO UNBLOCK
NYU Stern MBA Admissions [decisions@stern.nyu.edu] (Notifications)
NYU Stern MBA Admissions [appstat@stern.nyu.edu] (Status password and missing info messages)


- BACKUP PART TIME SCHOOLS -

I was quickly admitted into Fordham, and to be honest, it made the process of waiting for NYU a little easier. There’s something about having an admit in your back pocket…

NON LOCAL OPTIONS:
Kellogg and U Chicago: Awesome b-schools with awesome part time programs. People will fly-in each weekend for the Saturday program. As far as prestige, both of these are equivalent to NYU in every way.

LOCAL:
Fordham – It’s quite a step down from NYU, but it is generally considered the #2 part time MBA program in NY (though Baruch competes for this honor). The university has a great name and the program is reasonably competitive. It should be ranked, but it isn’t (blame the school, probably). They have a class of 2000+ and charge near what NYU is charging, so I don’t think they care.

Baruch – For finance guys, this may be a great backup. It’s well respected and has plenty of NY area recruiters. If you plan to move away from NY, then the Baruch name may lose some value to you. It’s very affordable.

U-Conn: Has a ranked full time program, which adds to the prestige of the part time one. It seems like a good atmosphere for those within reach of Connecticut.

Rutgers: Also has a ranked full time program and may be a great backup choice for NJ people.

Pace: Not as well regarded as the above, but it’s a good school in the heart of the city.

St. Johns, Hofstra… good backup schools on the island.

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I hope this helps someone...

~ Tenore

Thanks Tenore! Great information.

Neelesh, regarding essays you are right. Its really hard to say everything you want in 250 words. My Essay-1 is about 300 words and I really had to cut out everything thats not closely relevant to the topic. I got rid of some examples and career background to get closer to the limit.

I wrote the 4th essay. From what people advised me keep it short and to the point. Unless you have something worth 500 words don't go there.

any NYU indian applicants, did you guys convert % to equivalent GPA...

I have 90.2% In my undergrad...should i specify this in my resume as it is without conversion?

thanks
sv6

Neelesh....if that's the case then I am totally screwed. My reccos reached 7:20 AM Sept 16th as I express mailed them. I did receive a status check page that said that my application was complete. Did u get the same?

This is new. Usually they will note that those are missing items from your package and ask you to send it.

I wouldn't worry too much. I am a reapplicant and it was only two months later that they told me I needed my UG degree and not the provisional adn the rest is history....

I hope it's nothing much. Don't worry.
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Believe in yourself.

Tenore,

Can you shed some light on bozo's and my situation although I think bozo seems to be in a better shape than me as he has already received the status check email while I have not...Thanks in advance...
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Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish

This is from the Stern website:

"All mailed application material must be postmarked by the deadline date."

As long is it was mailed on time, you are fine.

http://w4.stern.nyu.edu/admissions/lang ... oc_id=7994

Best of luck guys!
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This sticker is dangerous and inconvenient but I do love Fig Newtons!

If you don’t have your status check password a week or so after the deadline, I’d definitely call NYU to check. If they emailed it, then they’ll just re-email it. If they didn’t email it, then they will be able to check and see what’s going on.

As far as missing info, here’s my story. I applied on May 1 and received my status check password a week or so later. At that time, my status check showed the generic message. Then, during the first week of June, I was notified by email that NYU needed a transcript. When I did a status check after that, the site indicated that my app was incomplete and it also specified exactly what NYU needed from me. It only took me a few days to get the papers to NYU, and it took NYU about 2 days to register it. After that, my status check site showed that all the info they asked for was received and it also said the original generic message. My admit notice came a little under 2 weeks later.

Basically, if NYU wants you, you’re not going to be kept out for trivial things like slightly late letters of rec. or a missing doc (if you can get it to them quickly). Don’t sweat this stuff.

I received my user name and password yesterday. The note should come from "appstat" and the subject line is NYU Stern MBA application.

I submitted everything online (except transcripts) on Sunday, 9/14. I mailed my undergrad transcripts last Friday, 9/12. Stats to follow (I have to figure out what everything means!)...